Scatter mine



Feb. 2, 1960 A, DELS 2,923,236

SCATTER MINE Filed May 18, 1956 FIG. 1

G 2 INVENTOR. F ALBERT DIELS m w. KW

SCATTER MINE Albert Diels, Brussels-Uccle, Belgium, assignor toPondreries Reunies de Belgique S.A., Brussels, Belgium, a corporation ofBelgium Application May 18, 1956, Serial No. 585,845

Claims priority, application Germany May 18, 1955 1 Claim. (Cl. 102-8)The present invention relates to mines which may be scattered byretreating troops to defend their rear against an advancing enemy, andmore particularly to completely nonmagnetic disc-shaped mines which maybe scattered by hand.

In my copending applications Serial No. 482,593, filed January 18, 1955,and entitled, Fuze," now abandoned, and Serial No. 585,846, filed oneven date and entitled Percussion Fuse for Land Mines, now Patent No.2,848,959, dated August 26, 1958, there are disclosed land mine fuseswith two horizontally moving, springloaded strikers or firing pins heldin cocked position and out of contact with a primer charge by means of aspring retaining means releasable by downward pressure upon the minewhereby the spring-loaded strikers are propelled against the primercharge and ignite the detonator of the mine.

According to the present invention, there is provided a land minecomprising a casing with a resilient cover, the casing containing themain explosive charge, a detonator charge, a primer charge arranged inthe same horizontal plane with the detonator, and a spring-loadedstriker means held in cocked position and'out of contact with the primercharge by means of a spring retaining means attached to the resilientlymounted cover and releasable by downward pressure upon the cover wherebythe spring-loaded strikers are propelled against the primer charge andignite the detonator. The resilient cover is secured against downwardmovement by a pin which is removed to place the mine in firingcondition.

If used by troops as an anti-personnel mine to be scattered at random,the mine casing preferably has the shape of a disc with a diameter ofabout 80 mm. or so.

A preferred embodiment of the land mine of this invention will bedescribed in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing whereinFig. 1 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 2 is a top view and partialsection along line IIII of Fig. 1.

The land mine comprises a pan-shaped casing 1 of non-magnetic material,preferably plastic, containing explosive 13 to form the main explosivecharge. The casing is closed by resilient cover 2 which is upwardlyarched to allow its downward depression. Centrally positioned plug 2a isintegrally connected with the cover and forms a part thereof. Theresilient cover is secured against flexing by a rigid protective cover 3placed over the cover 2 with plug 2a protruding through a centralaperture in cover 3. The plug is provided with a diametric borereceiving pin 11 which engages the rigid cover and holds the resilientcover in position against flexing.

The ignition means for the mine comprises the following parts: anarcuate retaining member 4 having a pair of apertures 4a, is fixedlyattached to plug 2a. A pair of 2,923,236 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 tensionsprings 6, 6' is mounted on platform 5, their ends forming strikers toignite primer 8 which is mounted in a recess in support element 14. Asshown, platform 5 and support element 14 are integral with the bottom ofthe casing. Apertures 4a are positioned above the primer 8 in the normalor upper position of resilient cover 2, when pin 11 is removed byattached loop 12 and vertically downward pressure is exerted on plug 2a,retaining member 4 will also be depressed until apertures 4a are in thesame plane with primer 8, at which time, the tension springs will propelthe strikers through the apertures against the primer to ignite thesame. Detonator 7 is radially positioned adjacent primer 8. Detonator 7may be introduced into the casing by a lateral opening 15 in the sidewall of the casing. Sealing plug 10 and cover 16 seal the detonator fromthe outside.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Before scattering the mine, pin 11 is removed by pulling on loop 12. Themine is now in operating condi tion. When downward pressure is appliedto plug 2a by stepping thereon or other pressure, retaining member 4will move downwardly and permit strikers 6, 6 to be propelled againstthe primer through apertures 4a, thus setting off the mine.

All parts of the mine are made of non-magnetic material, preferablyplastic.

While a preferred embodiment has been described and illustrated, manyvariations and modifications of the invention may occur to the skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

A non-magnetic scatter mine wherein all parts are of non-magneticmaterial, comprising a shallow casing, a disc-shaped main explosivecharge in the casing, a primer and a detonator co-planar therewith, theprimer and detonator being arranged within the main charge, aspringcontrolled striker means mounted in the casing for horizontalmovement adjacent the primer, a retaining member for holding thespring-controlled striker means in cocked position out of contact withthe primer in a normal, upper position of the retaining member, theretaining member having a vertical wall portion separating the strikermeans from the primer, a resilient cover for said casing, the retainingmember being rigidly and fixedly mounted on the resilient cover andprojecting inwardly therefrom toward said striker means, and said wallportion having aperture means positioned above the primer in said upperposition and permitting propulsion of the striker means therethroughinto contact with the primer in a depressed position of the resilientcover, a rigid protective cover placed over the resilient cover and aremovable pin engaging the two covers to secure the resilient cover insaid upper position, the resilient cover being downwardly flexible uponremoval of the pin and pressure thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Sept. 24, 1937

